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Powerful federal prosecutor Preet Bharara was fired Saturday after refusing to resign at the request of the attorney general. Michael George reports. (Published Saturday, March 11, 2017)

After Manhattan federal prosecutor announced he was fired Saturday for refusing a request a day earlier to resign, he received support from various people, thanking him for his service in rooting out corruption and wrongdoing.

Preet Bharara, 48, made the announcement on his personal Twitter account after it became widely known hours earlier that he did not intend to step down in response to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' request that leftover appointees of former President Barack Obama quit.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Scheiderman issued a statement saying Bharara "served with honor and distinction" and "will be sorely missed."

"President Trump’s abrupt and unexplained decision to summarily remove over 40 U.S. Attorneys has once again caused chaos in the federal government and led to questions about whether the Justice Department's vital and non-partisan work will continue under Attorney General Sessions, as it must," Schneiderman continued.

U.S. Senator of New York Chuck Schumer also released a statement Saturday in response to the firing of Bharara:

“Preet Bharara has been an exemplary U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. His relentless drive to root out public corruption, lock up terrorists, take on Wall Street, and stand up for what is right should serve as a model for all U.S. attorneys across the country. He will be sorely missed.”

Preet Bharara was an excellent US attorney. Took on Wall St, public corruption & terrorists. He’ll be sorely missed.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is not expected to comment on Bharara's firing because de Blasio was under investigation over trading of government favors for political donations.

Annemarie McAvoy, a former Brooklyn federal prosecutor, says it was not surprising President Donald Trump might want Bharara gone since there's a good chance any subpoena seeking information about Trump campaign links to Russians would go through his office.